The IWA was nationally acclaimed for its campaigns to protect the rights of the early immigrant workers setting in the UK in the 50s and 60s and its tireless work against discrimination and injustice.

It acted as a training nursery for a generation of Asian and Black community leaders, inspiring many into mainstream local and national politics.

At its peak IWA had membership of over 20,000 paid members in the 1970s and 1980s, ran a self financed national welfare & advice service supporting many thousands of people annually.

In the 1960s an IWA member became the first elected Asian Councillor in Ealing and by 1994 its President had become the first Asian MP for Ealing/Southall Constituency inspiring generations of Asians into mainstream institutions and politics.